Unknown 9: Awakening (Bandai Namco)

[Ezekiel]

Some bland, uninspired girl boss action-adventure with art direction and character designs that will appeal to no one, and they've already produced a tie-in comic series, a podcast, some kind of online origin story and novel trilogy. It reminds me of the Concord situation, how that whole universe of (not cheap) content was set up before the game was released and instantly failed. The studios don't want to start small anymore.

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/unknown-9/news/explore-the-larger-universe-of-unknown-9-awakening

A Closer Look at the Leap Year Society​

Imagine you began your journey into the Unknown with Awakening, then continued with the first season of the Out of Sight podcast, the Genesis novels, and then the Torment comic book series.

• Unknown 9: Awakening: The Leap Year Society (LYS) is a cornerstone of our narrative universe. The game gives you a snapshot of their state 100+ years ago, leaving you with more questions than answers—a fitting introduction to a secret society!
• Unknown 9: Out of Sight: After playing the video game, try listening to season one of the podcast. Without spoiling anything, you’d know that in the modern day, the LYS is hyper-secretive. They are keen observers of the paranormal, adept at intelligence gathering and trickery. To seek them out is to plunge into a world of weird surprises.
• Unknown 9: The Genesis Trilogy: If the novel trilogy is the next stop on your journey, you’ll notice the LYS starts to gain a lot of nuance. There will still be many questions about them, but you get a sense that, as an organization, they wield a lot of power and strive to make the smartest, most ethical choices. However, when the future of humanity is at stake, sometimes moral compromises must be made.
• Unknown 9: Torment: Finally, reading the comic book series will give you the most illuminating glimpses behind the scenes of the LYS. Jaden Crowe is caught up in their orbit right from Issue #1, just as the group announces their existence to the world. You’ll gain insight into their inner workings and ongoing rivalry with the Ascendants, and learn more about the founder of the Ascendants, Vincent.

 

[tommy heavenly6]

 

[I eat frozen vegetables]

Bandai Namco would have been better off wasting less time publishing this and diverting their efforts elsewhere.

 

[Inec0rn]

Apparently this one is another concord level failure, predicted for massive losses (looks a bit like that Forspoken garbage of what I saw). Keep it up AAA pubs.

 

[deuxhero]

some kind of online origin story [...] It reminds me of the Concord situation, how that whole universe of (not cheap) content was set up before the game was released and instantly failed. The studios don't want to start small anymore.

I think that one may not be that expensive depending on how it was done (fuck if I check what it actually is). FromSoft, back before Souls was a thing, did a 13 page+cover promo prologue comic for the website of at least one of their games, so it couldn't be super expensive given a (then B-list at best) studio did it for one of their side games.

 

[Ezekiel]

some kind of online origin story [...] It reminds me of the Concord situation, how that whole universe of (not cheap) content was set up before the game was released and instantly failed. The studios don't want to start small anymore.

I think that one may not be that expensive depending on how it was done (fuck if I check what it actually is). FromSoft, back before Souls was a thing, did a 13 page+cover promo prologue comic for the website of at least one of their games, so it couldn't be super expensive given a (then B-list at best) studio did it for one of their side games.

Hm... Now that you mention it, some of the Metal Gear Solid game manuals came with short comics by Yoji Shinkawa going over the setting and mechanics. They weren't that short.

 

[rumSaint]

Oh noes. Anyways.

I just wonder how much money those companies need to burn to get to conclusion that they need to make a good fucking game in the first place. At this point it has to be money laundering. People cannot be that stupid.

Also marketing of this shit was hilarious, no gameplays only images of bootleg Yennefer everywhere. I couldn't find whole interview but she really is uncomfortable, like she knew she stepped in shit:

 

[Falksi]

Poor pennyless wokie crowd, who live for clicks in an attempt to make a living off online vids instead of actually getting a proper job and then playing games, don't support game which is made for them...again.

Fucking poetry. Like watching a snake eat itself.

 

[Ezekiel]

 

[Inec0rn]

Maybe they knew this game was a bad idea and just released unfinished, terrible combat AI is normal for these games, can't have derp being challenged or losing etc.

sheesh the player model looks like it has down syndrome or something

 

[Valestein]

This bitch's interview is like she's part of a ransom video.

 

[Turbo normie]

 

[Valestein]

 

[Inec0rn]

 

[Tyranicon]

This year has produced such a bountiful harvest.

 

[OysterSauce]

Japanese publishers have been hoodwinked by their western divisions. Another Canadian turd, they never learn.

 

[udm]

 

[Ezekiel]

I know this guy's a grifter and am embarrassed to post him, but it's a good story. The language spoken by background NPCs is gibberish taken from random convos with translate tool and a dialect not of that place and time.

 

[HumanTotemPole]

Some bland, uninspired girl boss action-adventure with art direction and character designs that will appeal to no one, and they've already produced a tie-in comic series, a podcast, some kind of online origin story and novel trilogy. It reminds me of the Concord situation, how that whole universe of (not cheap) content was set up before the game was released and instantly failed. The studios don't want to start small anymore.

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/unknown-9/news/explore-the-larger-universe-of-unknown-9-awakening

A Closer Look at the Leap Year Society​

Imagine you began your journey into the Unknown with Awakening, then continued with the first season of the Out of Sight podcast, the Genesis novels, and then the Torment comic book series.

• Unknown 9: Awakening: The Leap Year Society (LYS) is a cornerstone of our narrative universe. The game gives you a snapshot of their state 100+ years ago, leaving you with more questions than answers—a fitting introduction to a secret society!
• Unknown 9: Out of Sight: After playing the video game, try listening to season one of the podcast. Without spoiling anything, you’d know that in the modern day, the LYS is hyper-secretive. They are keen observers of the paranormal, adept at intelligence gathering and trickery. To seek them out is to plunge into a world of weird surprises.
• Unknown 9: The Genesis Trilogy: If the novel trilogy is the next stop on your journey, you’ll notice the LYS starts to gain a lot of nuance. There will still be many questions about them, but you get a sense that, as an organization, they wield a lot of power and strive to make the smartest, most ethical choices. However, when the future of humanity is at stake, sometimes moral compromises must be made.
• Unknown 9: Torment: Finally, reading the comic book series will give you the most illuminating glimpses behind the scenes of the LYS. Jaden Crowe is caught up in their orbit right from Issue #1, just as the group announces their existence to the world. You’ll gain insight into their inner workings and ongoing rivalry with the Ascendants, and learn more about the founder of the Ascendants, Vincent.

Remarkable, even the official overview trailer showcases the bad animations and the uncanny valley faces.

Does appear to be another Concord situation. The core product is clearly a bit shit and uninspired, better hope that positive press spin and a wealth of expanded universe content will carry you over the line.

 

[Inec0rn]

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/unknown-9-developer-reflector-entertainment-reportedly-suffers-layoffs